mahogany takes its name from the dark wood prized for its durability, workability, and elegant look, and from the Diana Ross movie, whose theme song asks if what lies ahead is what you really want. This book is the third in a trilogy, and like the first two books it is steeped in pop music. Each poem here takes its title from a line of a Diana Ross and The Supremes song, as well as songs from Diana Ross' solo career. Short lines flow down the page like postmodern psalms, connecting dailyness to timelessness, merging the historical and the beloved through reverence for family, music, and the life we actually live. mahogany is a lament for the passing of time and unimaginable loss, and at the same time it models the daily search for joy, and the deep shine that can arise from the darkest times.

[sample poem]

i'm like a woman who once knew splendor*

sometimes i feel like the pink panther

all naked and pink

lost in the morass of

do the best you can today

and nigga heal thy self

our end of winter

spirits break

like old tibetan snow

i remember

you was conflicted

and i found myself alone

here on my ancient hurt

the disquieting hum

of living history

dear god, please

put my head above my heart

we can only be together

if the stories are told

plain face

same instrument

just a couple of coke bottles

full of gasoline

like god and rain

is a waste of time

my mother used to clean houses

as a child

some days i can barely

get out of bed

in my mind

she's like diana ross

scrubbing the white lady's stairs

in lady sings the blues

except prettier

and with green eyes

i've just been living

off of cough drops

and water and anger

just sitting in the whole foods

parking lot eating pineapple

i am literally

the definition of "hot mess"

pain changes everything

somebody come

and pick up

my limp body

off the ground

i am dying

a slow ohio death

we miss you starman

it's our first sunrise of the burn

*"dark side of the world" erica lewis